complete verse (Jeremiah 2:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 2:33:

  • Kupsabiny: “You are devoted to be doing sinful deeds
    until you surpass even women who know how to seduce men.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) are very[intensifier] good in pursuing your (plur.) beloved little-gods/false-gods. Even a woman who is expert in selling her body can-learn from you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You know how to easily find gods from other countries whom you can love.
    You can find them as easily as a prostitute can find men to sleep with.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 2:33

How well you direct your course indicates the ability and cleverness with which the people of Israel seek lovers. Apparently lovers refers to the fertility gods. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders: “In your hunt for lovers you are unrivaled.” “You know exactly how to go about finding lovers” is another example.

So that even to wicked women you have taught your ways (compare Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, An American Translation, New International Version) represents one possible interpretation of the Hebrew. But the noun rendered wicked women may be merely a feminine plural form of the adjective “evil.” If this is the case, then an alternative interpretation is possible: “and trained yourself to follow evil paths” (Moffatt; similarly Luther 1984, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New American Bible). This is also the interpretation of Bright:
And so to deeds of sin
You’ve schooled your ways.

Whereas the first of these interpretations follows naturally upon verse 33a, the second suits better what follows in verse 34. Translators who follow the first interpretation might say “You are so skilled that even wicked women learn something from you.” A possible rendering of the second example is “and you have taught yourselves how to follow evil ways.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .